Omaha isn’t the center of the world, by any standards. It’s isolated, not particularly progressive, and certainly not a place you’d expect bands like The Faint, Bright Eyes and a certain man – a captain of industry, a standard bearer for the middle-class white male – by the name of Har Mar Superstar, to spring up into the world from…. via Minneapolis, of course. He’s the best. He’s the most awesome. His live act will blow your mind. His most recent album, The Handler, will get you laid, if you play it over “coffee”. He’s the best. I mean it. ITM took the legendary R+B/Dance/Rock/Punk/Indie/(Insert Genre Here) crooner aside for a brief chat in the L.A. sunshine.

ITM: So. Yeah. How’s life for Har Mar?

Sean: Not too bad. At the moment, I’m being harassed by telemarketers. You know, working on the new Sean Na Na album, kicking back, getting it done.

ITM: Sean Na Na…?

Sean: My indie-rock project, that I’ve been doing for a few years now… wait… 8 years, actually!

ITM: I’m guessing it’s nothing like the Stevie Wonder meets Mysogynistic Bastard and Paisley Park Beats that are Har Mar Superstar?

Sean: No. Definitely not. Although, you know, it’s interesting that you mentioned Prince – He’s one of my heroes. Huge influence on my work, really. I lived near him for quite some time… I think he definitely made a big impact, though. I even got one of the New Power Generation guys to appear on some of the tracks.

ITM: ...along with Holly Valance. laughs Definitely. I checked out The Handler recently, and while I was fighting off girls and guys who wanted to, you know, get your number off me, I noticed a distinct Purple Rain feel to it. Eh. Whatever. It’s not bad, regardless. I love it, and I’m really not into R+B.

Sean: Well, it crosses over. I think it’s just getting everything out, and putting it on display for all to see – being honest about who you are, and why it’s happening. My producer, John Fields, helped me make that a bit more accessible, which is excellent.

ITM: Speaking of accessible… You’re not exactly a subtle man. Your live performances have been described as “Mind-Blowingly Sexy ”, “Lascivious” and “Totally, completely and unforgivably lewd and immoral”. I think our readers dig that.

Sean: I hope so! We just go out to show the world how awesome Har Mar is, and I think we succeed most of the time…

ITM: ...even with your parents watching in horror?

Sean: laughs They’re cool. They know what it’s about.

ITM: Okay. So, the last time you were here was… Livid? It’s been a while.

Sean: Yeah. I think there might have been a tour more recently, but I had a good time at Livid. In fact, I always have a good time in Australia.

ITM: How’d you get roped into doing these NYE gigs, anyway?

Sean: Oh, I know the promoters down there. Good guys! Decided to go down for one show, and they organized another one or two, and I’m looking forward to it like crazy. Like I said, I love Australia, and especially Melbourne and Sydney. To be honest, I don’t keep up with the dance scene – it’s not everything to me, but I know that our music’s the sort of stuff you can shake booty to, you know? I think the crowd will enjoy it. We’ll rock out. The cute girls will dance.

ITM: We have the best groupies. It’s true. To be honest, I’m desperate to get tickets to the show – it’s going to be so damn hot. I can’t wait.

Sean: A Har Mar show’s always hot. You know it. laughs

ITM: Going back to your album work, and John Fields in particular – why did you choose him? I mean, all of a sudden, you started drawing comparisons with Andrew W.K., because he (Fields) produced both of your recent albums but…. I don’t see it.

Sean: John’s least known for his work with Andrew, really. I’m a big fan of his work with Pink and Mandy Moore – he was the right man for the job. It was nice to sit down and write with a guy who knew where I was coming from – and he made it sound right. He helped me mature as an artist, and gave me a interesting viewpoint of the industry. Some people think that being on a major label’s a horrible thing, but, you know, it’s not that bad. They’ll open doors for you. They’ll expose you. But if you haven’t sold 300,000 copies in a few months, they start being harder to contact. And things don’t happen as fast. It’s business. You know, they need to make money, and if they do so by concentrating on the big bands, then so be it.

ITM: Well, you know. L.A. You’ve lived in that infamous apartment that Motley Crue once destroyed. You’ve been on a major label. You’ve recorded with a whole bunch of interesting people, not to mention The Faint and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. How’s that working out for you?

Sean: Well. That apartment… damn. I bumped into the Motley Crue guys as I was moving out. They had a photoshoot there on the same bloody day. I’m sure you’ve read the book. The place was a dump… but it was right near the Strip. Speaking of – The Faint – well, we spent a lot of time together. They’re good guys. In fact, I remember the week that they turned from a should’ve-been band to a shit-hot dance band… the guitarist left, and they sat around going “well, fuck, what are we going to do?”. They just ended up playing the guitar parts with synths, and wrote it in the week before they went into the studio. A few months later… Well, Conor released it, and they’re superstars. We’ve done a few tracks together, and they’re… awesome.

ITM: As much as I hate to cut you off…it’s been… well, our time is up – you’ve got a mini-press junket on today, I guess, so I’ll leave you to it.

Sean: I’ll see you at the show… and all the inthemix kids. It’s going to blow your mind. 

Har Mar Superstar performs at Honkytonks in Melbourne on NYE and at Icebergs, Bondi in Sydney on New Year’s Day.